Constantino Brumidi Congressional Gold Medal

This medal was awarded to recognize and honor the work of Constantino Brumidi (1805-1880) as a designer of murals in the U.S. Capitol Building. His many accomplishments included:

• Designing and painting murals in the House and Senate wings of the Capitol between 1855 and 1880
• Creating murals in the Senate Reception Room, the President’s Room, the Senate Appropriations Committee Rooms and the Brumidi Corridors
• Painting his masterpiece, “The Apotheosis of Washington,” in the eye of the Capitol dome and the Frieze of American History around its base
• Creating the first tribute to a black American in the Capitol Building with the figure of Crispus Attucks, the focal point off his fresco of the Boston Massacre

Brumidi was born in Rome of a Greek father and Italian mother. He came to the U.S. in 1852 and became a citizen in 1857. His life and work exemplify the lives of millions of immigrants who came to this country to pursue the American dream.

The bronze medal pictured is a duplicate of the Congressional Gold Medal.